Monochrome
by Skyheart77
Summary: In a world where Cross Marian came too late to save the son of his friend, Allen Walker is taken in by the Noah who tried to ruin his life. Brought up by the Noahs, Allen comes to believe in them, and make it his personal crusade to bring the Black Order down. But what happens when he starts to meet the Exorcists for real? Will he maintain his convictions, or find a new god?
1. Prologue

_Ten __  
_

The Earl of Millenium hovered over the gravestone, his pointy-toed boots feet from the ground as he leaned his head on his hands, surveying the upcoming entertainment. He confessed, he'd been surprised when the boy's hideous arm began to glow, but it didn't take long for the Earl to guess just what had happened. There were those born with Innocence, he knew, and the Black Order called them those with the parasitic-type Innocence. He, for one, preferred to call them a nuisance from birth.

There really was no competition. Even with the boy kicking and screaming, that Innocence arm of his gave no quarter; the Akuma was going to be dead within seconds. The Earl grinned lopsidedly. Oh well - he would just have to create another then.

Just then, the boy turned towards him, his eyes frantic. Blood covered half his face and drenched his collar, but that didn't seem to matter as he screamed. "Help me! Save him, save Mana! Please!"

The Earl tilted his head to the side, the lopsided smile growing symmetrical as he made no move to help the boy. Mana? Where had he heard that name before?

The boy screamed again as the monstrous white arm rose up like a wave before slashed viciously across the skeleton's body. The answering howl from Mana jerked the Earl's memory, and he started upright; his smile didn't quite fade - it never did - but it did fade slightly.

Mana. Mana Walker.

_Neah. _

The dead man was Neah's brother. The Earl remembered now, albeit vaguely, the small mentions that his once-brother had made of his own human brother, the brother that Neah had abandoned when he joined the Noahs. And this boy was that brother's foster son? And an Exorcist to boot?

The Earl leaned forward even more, his interest piqued. The fight was over already, and the boy lay on the ground, sobbing, his arm suddenly lifeless next to him, although still faintly glowing green. Just who was this boy?

He drifted forward, towards the boy. "That's quite enough, little boy."

The boy didn't even look up, his gray eyes dazed and tear-filled.

"Such a pity...your father _could_ have come back, you know. If not for what you did...Oh, well. Nothing for it." The Earl held a hand out, the gesture more fatherly than anyone could have imagined. "On the bright side, seeing as you're so lonely, what would you say to joining my family instead?"

Tyki looked up from his book as one of Roade's heart-shaped doors blurred into visibility on his right. His brows rose, his expression skeptical. "Earl?"

"Yes, my dear Tyki?"

"Who's that tyke? Is he a human? Why did you bring him here?" Tyki frowned, carefully placing a bookmark on the page he was at and snapping the book shut.

"Of course he's a human, such an adorable boy couldn't be anything _but_ a human!" Roade suddenly exploded into the room, making a mad dash for the boy the Earl cradled against his bulk. Tyki reached forward neatly, grabbing the blue-haired girl by the cuff. "Not so fast, Roade. We still don't know who this guy is."

The Earl held the boy up for Tyki's inspection; for this first time, Tyki realized that the boy was unconscious, totally knocked out. "He is the newest member of our family. His name is Allen. Allen Walker."

Tyki's brows rose. "A new member of...?" The Earl waved away any questions the Noah of Pleasure had, dumping the boy into his free arm. "I'll tell the family everything later, just get this poor little dear cleaned up now, Tyki."

"I'll help!" Roade's arm shot into the air, her expression cheeky. Tyki rolled his eyes, giving his niece a little shake. "You're a girl, he's a guy, you are _not_ going anywhere near us while I clean this kid up. Here." In one smooth motion, he tossed Roade towards the Earl, who caught her with ease, then began to tickle her, the younger Noah writhing in delighted laughter. Tyki lifted the boy up to eye level. "A new family member, huh?"

The Earl and Roade left the room, the former tossing his beloved Noah up in the air again and again as she giggled. Tyki shook his head; his family could act so childish sometimes! He turned back to the kid, eying it with a mixture of apprehension and annoyance. There was no question who was going to get saddled with taking care of this kid for the next few years - the Earl was far too busy with planning the war to bother about this kid he'd brought back; Roade looked like she was ready to jump the kid as soon as she was alone with him, to hell with his age; Lulubell would probably just leave the kid to the Akumas to take care of and end up getting him killed; Jesdevi would probably kill the kid themselves and Skin...well, there was no way _anyone_ was giving this boy to Skin, was there? Not that he was flattering himself, but he really was the most responsible, and the only one who could be trusted with this.

On the other hand, this was not something he particularly wanted to be trusted with. Tyki bit back an inevitable sigh.

* * *

_Twelve_

Allen twisted out of the way and blocked the ensuing punch with his sleek, blackened left hand. "Tyki, can't we take a short break please?"

Tyki looked around his outstretched fist that Allen had effectively stopped. "Um, let me think...No." His fist sank right through Allen, reaching for his neck, but Allen was more than wise to that trick. In a single fluid movement, faster than could be seen, he weaved out of the way and retaliated with a punch straight to Tyki's gut. His fist went straight through, and Tyki smirked. "When are you ever going to-umph!"

Tyki tumbled back, clutching the side of his face.

Allen rose with a grin. "How's that for speedy, Tyki? Now can we take a break?"

Tyki rolled his eyes. "Why do you keep going on about a break, Allen? It's not like I like doing this any more than you do, but the Earl did say that he wanted us training longer today, and it's only been five hours."

"But I'm hungry." The snow-haired boy whined, rubbing his stomach. "Not to mention I'm also really bored with training."

Tyki's face became sly. "How about a lunch and poker before we resume training?"

Allen's face brightened. "Deal! And after lunch I'll kick your butt!"

Tyki smirked. "You wish, boy! Come on, let's go. I'm sure you're starving."

Tyki watched as his ward, friend, whatever Allen was to him guzzled down a whole bowl of soup, then attack the pasta right away. Delicately, he placed his hand over his face. "Boy, I've told you before you really should learn better manners when eating. You put everyone off their food!"

Allen looked up, then around at the other patrons of the restaurants, every one of them who was gaping open-mouthed at him, as were the waiters, and even the chefs inside the kitchen were peering out to stare.

Allen's cheeks reddened with embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry." He apologised to the other patrons before turning back to Tyki. "You know how I get when it comes to food. Especially good food." He finished before taking another huge gulp of pasta. Tyki sighed. "You're doing it again, boy."

"On the bright side, Tyki, I eat a lot faster than you do, despite the disproportionate amount." Allen replied brightly as he lay his fork down, reaching for his napkin to dab at his mouth with. "Because I'm done, and you've barely touched your steak."

Tyki made a face. "I was going to start after you'd finished, so that I could avoid getting nauseated by your eating habits."

Allen pouted slightly. "Really, Tyki! Of all the ways to hurt me!" He glanced out of the window. "Anyway, if you're going to take a while more I think I'll go out and take a look around. I've never actually been to this part of Britain before, I'd like to take a look."

It was, honestly, a great comfort to Allen that it had been Tyki who had been put in charge of his general education, which also included dining ettiquette - something Tyki had been very particular about. Regardless of the looks he got because of the speed at which he ate - or his voracious appetite, at least Allen knew how to differentiate between his salad knife and his steak knife, and look elegant while doing this. All this, thanks to Tyki. And not just that, of course. He'd learnt much from his Noah family; but none more so than from Tyki, who was practically a brother to him.

Tyki made sure to finish swallowing his piece of steak before he spoke. "That's true. You're from Britain, aren't you? I suppose this is almost like home to you. Don't be too long, though. I'll probably be done in half an hour."

Allen nodded, his trademark cheerful smile already on his face as he headed out of the restaurant.

London air was really the freshest you could get, Allen thought as he peered curiously into a little shop selling quaint antiques. The Ark was home, that was for sure, but it got stuffy and boring in there - not to mention how dark and even slightly creepy it was, such that it only worsened his nightmares, and for the first two months of his stay there, he'd been forced to sleep with Tyki. Or more accurately, the other way around. The worst times were when neither Roade, Tyki or Skin were around; then he had no one to talk to, given that his other choices were the Earl and Sherill - who were far too busy dealing with that pesky Black Order - or Jesdebi - who preferred to shoot at him rather than talk to him - or Lulubell, who would just make him paint her nails, and that made Mimi, Lulubell's personal Akuma assistant, more than a little jealous.

All of a sudden, Allen was pulled out of his thoughts as someone knocked into him, hard - caught unawares, he stumbled back, falling flat on his back as the wind was knocked out of him. Rubbing his back as he got to his feet, he opened one eye to see who had knocked so unceremoniously into him - and then was startled when he saw it was a girl, not much older than he was. The gentleman in him took charge - Tyki had trained him well in that - and he immediately offered a hand towards the girl, an apologetic smile coming over his face. "I'm so sorry about that!"

The girl looked up, and a smile graced her face as she dipped her head in apology. "No, no, it was my fault. I should have seen where I was going!" She took Allen's hand, and he heaved her up - she was lighter than he expected, given that they were about the same height. He took a good look at her, sizing her up - yet another part of his training, although this was one part that every single Noah that trained him engraved into him. She looked - well, there was no other word for it. She looked totally harmless. A rather attractive sort of harmless, at that, but still harmless.

"Are you all right?" Allen asked, concerned, as the girl winced. She maintained her cheerful smile - she looked bright and happy, like she would be a nice person to be around. "I'm fine, it's quite all right."

"You're not from around these parts, are you? I come to this town often, and I've never seen you before." The girl continued, making light conversation; he could tell that he piqued her curiosity - maybe it was his white hair or something, but intrigued look in her amethyst eyes was something he read easily. He rubbed the back of his hair with his hand. "Ah, you've caught me out. I'm from overseas. Germany. I'm here for a family visit. The rest of my family's just wandering around this place taking a look, though - it's quite different from where we're from."

"Germany? You don't sound German." The girl looked surprised, as she tilted her head to one side. Allen shrugged. "Ah, we travel around a lot."

It was a good thing Allen was a good liar - he'd had a lot of practice, plus living with Roade and Tyki, both of them great liars themselves, tended to be a big help. Nevertheless, he'd never enjoyed lying to girls, and if this girl kept up her questioning, he wasn't sure for how much longer he could keep weaving his web of lies.

Which was fortunate for him, then, when a voice suddenly called out. "Hey, we gotta go! Your brother's calling!" A man with distinctive, messy red hair stood further off in the distance, waving conspicuously at the girl. He was dressed in black and silver, but stood too far away for Allen to see him clearly. The girl started. "Oh, I gotta go. Nice meeting you!" She waved a quick hand at Allen, then ran off, faster than he could have expected.

Just then, a hand lay on his shoulder, and he was jerked out of his reverie. He looked around, only to see Tyki standing behind him, his expression bored, yet still able to show disapproval. "What happened to keeping your guard up, Allen?"

"Ah...sorry, I was just slightly distracted." Allen apologised. "Are we going?"

Tyki gave a cheeky grin. "Yep. Time for poker! This will probably be our last chance before the summer holidays end - after that, it's back to school for you and Roade, so we better savour it!"

As much as Allen enjoyed school - it wasn't much fun interacting with dull, clueless human kids, but he did enjoy the learning process, something he hadn't had much experience with before he joined the Noah family - he could not disagree with his brother.

* * *

_Fifteen_

Allen leapt lightly off the chair, stretching his muscles as he completed his five hundredth push-up. Well, pseudo push-up. With one arm. He turned to grab his shirt, his breathing slightly unsteady.

Training, training, training. That's all he ever seemed to do recently, especially now that the Earl had insisted he be withdrawn from school - and he didn't even know why. He'd thrown a bit of a fit, to be honest - it was learning! It was good for him! - but in the end the Earl had been insistent, and now he was stuck here in the Ark, twenty-four seven, like some kind of caged prisoner.

The worst of it was that _everyone _else knew why he'd been pulled from school; Roade, Tyki and even Skin had hinted that all he had to do was to be patient, and he would understand all - he would be happy, even, that he'd been withdrawn from school. Fat load of good that did him now; he was still in a bad mood.

Almost as if his complaints had been heard, there was a sharp rap on the door, and an Akuma poked his head in, his voice mechanical and heavy just as all of the Earl's other Level Ones were. "Lord Allen. The Earl requires your presence in the Great Hall now." With a slight bow, he backed out of the room, not waiting for Allen's response.

Allen sighed, expecting the Earl to either ask him for help with Roade's homework - Roade had been allowed to continue schooling, something which neither of them had been happy about - or ask him for some "family bonding time", since every single one of the Noahs had all been spent on missions, which left only Allen and the Earl in the Ark.

Nevertheless, it wasn't like he could refuse the Earl. Biting back yet another sigh, he pulled on his button-on shirt and headed for the door as he tidied up his hair with his hands.

The Earl was munching on yet another dessert, his teeth visible as always. And, as always, his desserts made Allen drool when he saw them. This one was with vanilla ice cream, three wafers stuck into the side, five cherries, chocolate sauce poured on top and sprinkled with marshmallows. Allen's eyes were fixed to the dessert, as he seated himself next to the Earl. "You called for me?"

The Earl spooned another huge mouthful, taking his time to swallow before he spoke to Allen, waving his spoon around slightly as he did. "Yes, of course, Allen. You've been rather lonely haven't you, with all the others gone on missions."

Allen nodded, a little forlornly, but inside, he was starting to get a little excited. Was he finally going to be sent on a mission of his own?

The Earl confirmed his eager thoughts. "This war is starting to become a little too boring, so perhaps we need another entrance to spice things up a little. And that would be you, my dear boy."

Allen leaned forward, locking his fingers. "What do you need me to do, my Earl? I'll be sure to succeed!"

The Earl's grin widened at Allen's eager determination, reaching out to ruffle the boy's hair. "That's just the right attitude, my boy." He flicked his fingers, and an array of Akuma were suddenly assembled behind Allen, at the ready. "Your first mission will be in Germany. There is a strange little town there; the Black Order calls it a rewinding town. I am sure you will understand when you get there. The Order believes that there is an Innocence in that town, and what I want you to do is to go there and observe them."

Allen started. "Just observe them? I don't need to kill them or anything?"

"No. That is Roade's job. You will be joining her on this mission, but what you have to do is simply to watch, and learn what you can from them. I have given strict orders to Roade not to kill them; she is merely to give them a warning, let them know that the scene is finally changing, that a new act is starting. But as you know, Roade often goes overboard. So I'll be trusting you to make sure she doesn't do anything unnecessary, my dear boy. Can you do that?"

Allen inclined his head sharply. "Yes, my Earl. I will do as you ask."

The Earl waved his spoon again. "You may go."

Allen pushed his chair away from the table, getting to his feet to address the Akuma. "Let's go, then." He rolled his neck. "Time for some entertainment at last."

* * *

Hey everybody! So here's the first chapter (the prologue, actually) of Monochrome, and I hope you guys enjoyed it! Basically it's just a little AU idea that popped into my head while I was watching (rewatching, really) DGM. Characters might be a little OOC (my characterization isn't the best) but I tried to keep the characters as true to the anime/manga as possible. Allen will, of course, be quite different from the book (duh! Not an exorcist anymore!) but other than that the other characters should (hopefully) be the same.

In any case, I hope you liked this first chapter, and please give reviews on how you found it! I eat reviews for breakfast, lunch and dinner and it's not fun to starve!

1 For those who don't quite get this, this is the age that Allen is. I know canonically he should be 12, but I made him a bit younger for this story.


	2. Chapter 1

Lavi leaned his head back, staring at the woman with vivid curiosity in his eyes. "So they call you unlucky Miranda? That's a pretty shitty name, friend."

Miranda gave an over-dramatic sob that Lenalee had already begun to characterize her with, as she wept. "My whole life has been like that! Misery! Misery! I've never been able to do anything in my life!" She threw herself over her creepy clock, which Lavi had already established that it seemingly couldn't be touched by either him or Lenalee.

It was Lenalee who got to her feet, placing a gentle hand on the German woman's back. "Miranda! I'm sure it's fine; you're the host of this Innocence, aren't you? It just proves; you're not useless! I'm sure you'll make a great Exorcist!"

Miranda looked up, her face tear-streaked, but the look in her eyes suddenly excited as she remembered what Lavi and Lenalee had explained to her about Exorcists, Innocence and the Black Order, just before they had been attacked by those gruesome looking monsters. The two of them were so cheerful, so supportive - well, it really was more Lenalee, given that Lavi mostly just leaned against the wall and laughed at her terrible luck - that Miranda could not help but hope. Would she really make a good Exorcist? Would she be able to do something right for the first time in her life? She'd seen how Lavi and Lenalee fought, the former with his huge hammer and the flaming snake he could summon, and the latter with her glowing boots and furious wind attacks. It was the most glorious thing she had ever seen, them fighting against the monsters. Even as she screamed while Lenalee flew her away from the fight, she could not help but marvel: would she be able to do such amazing things too?

"Well, now what do we do?" Lavi questioned as he lazed on Miranda's bed, his arms supporting his head. "We know that it was Miranda's wish that the clock granted, so that time just kept repeating itself. But we don't know how to get out, so we can't get out, so we're stuck here. And unless Miranda somehow manages to deactivate the Innocence, I doubt we're going anywhere soon."

Miranda's head sank again. "I'm...so sorry. It's all my fault! I really can't do anything good!" With that, she whirled away from her clock, too precious to hit, and began viciously assaulting the wall with her head. It was Lenalee who once again leaned down, dragging her away from the wall. "Eh...Miranda! It's all right, it's not your fault! All we have to do is find a way to let your clock understand that you don't want time to rewind anymore, and then everything will be fine..."

Lavi tilted his head to the side, leaning against the wall this time. "Let the clock understand...Aha!" He suddenly jumped up from the bed, a cheeky, smug smile on his face. "Got it!"

Lenalee and Miranda turned to look at him, the former expectant, having been formerly acquainted with Lavi's intelligence, and the latter dubious, although certain that any idea Lavi could think of would be infinitely better than hers, because he wasn't her.

"Miranda said she got depressed because she was fired from her one hundredth - seriously though, one hundredth? I didn't think there were even that many jobs to be found in a small town like this - but anyway as long as we can help her find a new job, one that she likes and does well and won't be fired from, then surely her now-positive emotions will be able to influence her Innocence, so the clock will stop rewinding time?" Lavi explained his theory, looking up at Lenalee as if expecting to be praised.

Lenalee glanced over at Miranda. "What do you think, Miranda? It sounds like it could work, doesn't it? Why don't we give it a try?"

Miranda scrambled to her feet, wishing desperately that she had thought of that brilliant idea first, but instead she smiled weakly. "Let's give it a try, then."

* * *

Allen tilted his head, capturing the visage of the three Akumas that remained bowed before them between his thumb and forefinger of each hand, using those fingers to form an uneven rectangle. "Three Exorcists, huh..."

"Two Exorcists and one rather mousy woman who can't stop crying, and who seems to be a host." Roade corrected. "She probably can't do much; she has absolutely no control over her Innocence, that wimp. You should have seen what happened last night; that hideous brown junk of hers just sucked the time from the whole city!"

"Still, it's a good thing I got here before you killed them. That would have been bad." Allen mused, leaning slightly over the roof that they sat on to peer down below, at the apartment that Roade had told him belonged to that host.

Roade leaned against Allen's side, causing him to yelp as he nearly lost his balance, while Roade simply giggled, steadying him with one hand. "Really though, I don't see why the Earl is being so strict about leaving them alive. I mean, one Exorcist can deliver a message just as well himself. So maybe I could kill two of them and-"

"That would be disobeying the Earl's direct orders, Lero! He would definitely spank you for that, Lero!" The umbrella waved its pumpkin head furiously, its expression livid at the thought of Mistress Road disregarding the Earl's direct orders.

Allen lay a hand on Roade's head, steadying her as he smiled at the familiar pressure of her spiky-blue head against his shoulder. "I know it must be hard for you to resist killing them, but really though, this is only the second scene. Just wait until the next act starts; then we can have our fun with these insignificant imbeciles." He felt Roade smile into his shoulder, and knew that he must have triggered the younger (or older? He never really knew which) girl's Noah side.

Roade's voice was viciously gutteral. "You have a point there. But I really do want to play with those two girls though, especially the green-haired one; you have _no_ idea how annoying she was! Running around calling that boy's name "Lavi! Lavi" in that whiny little voice. Just the thought of her makes me angry!"

"The green-haired one?" Allen wondered out loud. The briefest of memories flashed through his mind, of dark-green-almost-black hair tied in two pigtails, of startling amethyst eyes that had remained with him even after the moment had ended.

"What's wrong, Allen? Do you know something about her?" Roade lifted herself from Allen's shoulder, frowning as she turned towards her brother. Allen shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Just...nothing."

Roade's eyes narrowed suspiciously; Allen was a good liar, that was for sure, but it wasn't easy to lie to the person who'd actually _taught _you how to lie; Roade knew every single one of the little tell-tale hints that meant Allen was lying, and given that his right eyelid was twitching rather more than usual, she was pretty sure the mention of the green-haired Exorcist meant more to Allen than he had expressed. Before she could make mention of it, however, Allen gave her a lop-sided, almost mischievous grin. "Well, I've got a good idea of how you can play with those Exorcists and still follow the Earl's orders."

Roade perked up suddenly, all her previous thoughts cast aside; Allen might not be a Noah himself, but he certainly had the best ideas when it came to playing! Her eyes gleamed eagerly, the moon shining dimly on her darkened Noah skin. "You do? Spill!"

Allen gave a wicked smile. "Okay then. Let's play."

* * *

Lavi leaned against the pole of the circus tent, his expression amused as he spoke to himself. "Woah, she actually does look pretty cute when she's having fun!"

The "she" in question was Miranda Lotto; the German woman was now dressed in the attire of a witch, having been hired by a circus that was passing by to sell tickets for them. She was smiling brightly now, even laughing, as she was surrounded by children, their eager hands reaching for the tickets already.

A familiar voice drifted from behind him, exasperated. "Please tell me you're not going to start hitting on Miranda and yelling "strike!" every time you see her now."

Lavi whirled around, the usual playful grin already in place. "She's not quite my type, unfortunately. I like someone with a little more confidence - although I do approve of the older woman bit."

Lenalee bit back a laugh, shaking her head at Lavi's typical childishness. "Really, Lavi, get serious! You're supposed to be watching Miranda!"

"She's doing fine." Lavi waved Lenalee's complaints away as he indicated the German woman. Just then, a young girl approached the Exorcists; Lavi gave her the once-over, as he always did with anyone new he met. Brown eyes, strangely-dyed blue hair, a lollipop and a pumpkin umbrella. She seemed harmless, if a little gothic, so Lavi turned to let Lenalee deal with whatever the kid wanted, allowing himself to get back into his own thoughts.

Lavi allowed himself a small smile; it had been difficult finding Miranda a job in the past three days; she'd been fired from five jobs and in two places they just immediately rejected her, having heard her reputation for being the "unlucky Miranda". Nevertheless, they had finally been able to find a job that Lavi was sure Miranda couldn't possibly screw up - after all, it was just selling tickets to a circus! How difficult could that be?

Lavi should have waited another five seconds before speaking - because no sooner had that last thought crossed his mind when there was a sudden familiar shriek one that Lavi was sure he had heard no less than twenty-seven times since he had met Miranda. Both Exorcists whirled around, Lavi's hand flying to his hammer, only to see Miranda slumped on the ground, her hands over her face as she sobbed, apologizing over and over again, while the owner of the circus towered over her, his wide girth trembling in anger. "Idiot! You let a thief take the money?"

Lenalee darted forward, forgetting about the young girl who wanted to know where she could buy tickets from; even without her Dark Boots activated, her legs moved faster than Lavi's possibly could, making it by Miranda's side within seconds, lifting the older woman up to look her in the face. "Miranda, what happened? Is something wrong?"

Miranda had to fight back her sobs to answer. "Lenalee! Someone bumped into me and took the money!"

Lavi grasped the older woman by the shoulder. "Did you see who it was?"

Miranda turned, her eyes darting about, as her hand shot up. "Th-there!"

Both Exorcists looked up at the roof she was pointing at, only to see a young man running along the edge of the look, the expression on his face smug as he tossed a glance back at them. Lenalee's eyes narrowed. "Don't worry, Miranda! We'll catch him and get the money back!"

They took off after the thief, Lenalee leaping easily onto the roof above the thief with the help of her Dark Boots while Lavi tried hard to keep up from ground level.

The circus owner spat on the ground, his face red. "I entrust you with one duty, _one_, and you can't even do it! Useless!"

Miranda slumped back, curling back into herself as the tears spilled over, wishing she had the comfort of her clock with her. "It's no use...in the end, no matter what I do, I'm no good. I worked so hard...I'm such an idiot! Why did this have to happen to me? Why does my clock harbour this Innocence? Why me?!"

Just then, her soliloquy was interrupted by a young, blue-haired girl in pink-and-purple stockings who knelt down to her, licking a lollipop absentmindedly. Miranda looked up, startled, but still weeping at her ill-fortune; behind the girl stood a figure, clothed in a black coat, his face covered by a hood. The girl tilted her head with a grin, drawing Miranda's attention back to her. "So your clock is the Innocence, eh?"

Lenalee's eyes narrowed as the thief leapt down into a dark alleyway; without missing a beat, she swung herself over the railing, plunging into the same darkness. The thief jerked to an abrupt halt, whirling around with that self-same smirk on his face.

Lavi caught up with them, panting slightly. "Dead end, buddy! Now give the money back to us!"

The thief's smile widened, and Lavi's sense of dread grew. Instinctively, without any conscious thought, his hand flashed to his hammer, and just in time, as the Akuma exploded out of the thief's skin.

"You!" Lavi exclaimed, recognizing the large, blue-skinned Akuma that fired shots of burning ice. His eyes widened as he whirled back to look in the direction that they had come from. "This...it's a trap!"

The Akuma leaned forward, his (or her? Lavi never quite knew if there was a difference) expression gruesomely malicious. "We've taken the woman. Lady Roade has captured her!"

Lavi and Lenalee exchanged a look. "Roade?" Who the hell was that?

Lavi gripped his hammer, pulling it out halfway, but before he could unleash it fully the Akuma lunged forward. "Ice Fire!"

Ice spread rapidly, covering the entire alleyway in a matter of seconds while the two Exorcists flinched, Lenalee exclaiming. "It's freezing!"

Lavi's eyes narrowed, his expression grim. Miranda. The Akuma said that they had Miranda, and even if he didn't know who this "Lady Roade" was, he didn't doubt the Akuma's words. They should never have left Miranda alone at all - he knew there were Akumas here, after all. They'd attacked them before. How could he have been so stupid as to leave the German woman unguarded?!

"Lavi, look out!" Lenalee shouted, jerking Lavi out of his thoughts. The red-haired Exorcist looked up, only to see the other two Akumas emerging from the glowing pentacles in the ground, their malevolent chuckles ringing throughout the alley.

"Damn it...we've got to focus and destroy the Akumas!" Lavi snarled; he leapt into the air as the multi-headed green Akuma attacked him with a sound wave, shattering the ice at his feet, and swung his hammer. "Odzuchi Kodzuchi, man, man, man!"

"Behind you!"

Lavi's head whipped around, and his eyes widened in shock as the last Akuma attacked him; he tried to swing his hammer around to block the blow, but he was a moment too slow, and the attack sent him crashing across the ice. Lenalee lunged forward, but the green Akuma blocked her with sound wave after sound wave, dodging the green-haired girl's lightning-fast kicks.

Lavi struggled to his feet, yelping as his arm slipped on the ice. He grasped his hammer and looked up - into the face of the ice-controlling Akuma, which grinned gruesomely. "Got you!"

Before Lavi could even move, ice spread up his arms and legs, locking him in place. His eyes darted up in panic, and was met with yet another direct blow of the "Ice Fire".

Lenalee whirled around at the resounding crash - her eyes widened to see Lavi lying on the ground, his hand lying lifelessly, inches from the hammer which had fallen from his grip. She turned back to face her opponent - only to see that they had tripled, and now all three Akumas loomed ahead of her. "And now for you, Exorcist..."

* * *

The ringing noise wouldn't seem to stop. Lavi grunted, shaking his head from side to side like a wet dog trying to dry his fur, but he couldn't seem to stop the ringing. Slowly, his eyes opened, adjusting slowly to the dim light. He couldn't move his arms. "Where the hell..."

He looked up, then stared, shocked, at the sight of Miranda bound to her clock with ropes, her arms restrained and unable to move. Arms...his head whipped around to stare down at his own body, only to see similar ropes around his own body, and the sheath that held his hammer conspicuously empty. "What the..."

"You're awake?"

The voice made him jerk to the left, suddenly recognizing the voice of the young girl that had accosted Lenalee and him just before the whole...disaster happened. His eyes widened; the blue-haired girl was there, indeed, dressed in an Exorcist's coat - probably his, given that all he was wearing was just his button-down shirt and pants. Behind her were the three Akumas, obediently following behind the little girl, and a hooded figure that stood slightly further back, the figure's face cast in shadows. And next to them - Lenalee.

She was seated in an armchair, her head down, her eyes dulled and seemingly lifeless. For a moment, he panicked. "Lenalee!" Was she dead?

The little girl held her hand out and hugged Lenalee affectionately, blowing on her bubblegum with a grin as the blue Akuma leaned forward. "Don't call for her! She's Lady Roade's doll."

Lavi's eyes narrowed. "So you're Lady Roade... Are you an Akuma?"

Roade laughed, her voice high and childish. "Akuma? Oh, no." She skipped around Lenalee's chair, heading for the hooded figure, pulling him - Lavi thought it was a him, the figure didn't seem slender enough to be female - forward by the arm. "Al and I, we're humans."

"Humans?" Lavi's eyes narrowed. "Brokers, then. Scum that works with the Millennium Earl to kill more people, to turn more innocent people into destructive weapons of pain and suffering."

Roade leaned against the figure. "Hmm...not quite right either, Bookman, although I must say you're very knowledgeable about the Earl's dealings. No, we're not brokers. Are we, Al?"

The figure looked up, and Lavi started. It was a he, but his face was covered by a clown's mask, the ruby-red lips and wide-mouthed grin so obscene it was almost frightening. "Of course not, Roade. We're not that pathetic, to do all this for money."

"Then why? Who the hell are you people?" Lavi demanded, straining against his bonds. He was getting confused, and frustrated. "If you're human, but not brokers, then why would you be working with the Millennium Earl? How can you even _be _human, then?"

The figure leaned forward, his voice amused behind the grotesque mask. "But you are human, of course you are, Roade. She's the same as you, Exorcist. Just...better. Superior. More than you can ever be."

Lavi's brows furrowed, his frustration almost boiling over. Now they were just purposely being cryptic, for damn's sake!

It was Roade who answered his question. "Al's right. We are better than you." Lavi flinched as her skin began to darken, turn gray, the skin above her forehead darkening to almost-black to form the crosses that Lavi knew to be stigmata. "We are the chosen ones, the only true humans, chosen by God himself.

"We, of the Noah clan."

* * *

Hey guys, so here's the next chapter, and I hope you guys enjoyed it!

First off, you probably noticed that I changed quite a bit of dialogue, even though some scenes are from the anime itself (I'll be referring more to the anime than the manga for this story). The why should be obvious: in this story, until Allen appears Lavi/Kanda will probably be taking over almost all of his scenes, ergo for the Rewinding Town storyline Lavi takes over Allen's position as the Exorcist who journeys with Lenalee. Furthermore, Allen and Lavi are fundamentally different people: whereas Allen is kinder and more generous and helpful, Lavi is more likely to make fun of and tease (although he is also kind). In the original storyline, Allen also took huge offence at humans helping the Millennium Earl, whereas Lavi wonders at it, then accepts it to be a fact of life (he also knows about brokers, because he's part of the Bookman Clan). And in the original story Allen's Innocence arm is pinned with candles to the wall, but I think if Lavi's hand was pinned to the wall I think he probably would never be able to use them again.

This trend will continue throughout the story, in scenes which Allen was originally supposed to be in I will probably replace him with another main character and change the scene/dialogue accordingly (I think it's probably more interesting for the readers that way too, otherwise it'll just be like I'm recycling dialogue you've already seen before.)

In any case, what did you guys think of this chapter? Was it fast-paced enough? I hope you guys remember to give reviews! Thanks a lot, people!


	3. Chapter 2

_The Noah Clan...? _

Lavi straightened up, his sole visible eye narrowing as he cycled through centuries' worth of observations, of records, records that Bookman had drilled into him for as long as he could remember.

And he came up with a blank.

Lavi jerked back, the pain suddenly becoming insignificant in comparison to his shock. _How is this even possible? The Bookman Clan has recorded centuries, even millenniums worth of information, and yet when it comes to these people..._

"Don't bother puzzling over it, Bookman Jr. You don't have anything on us. No one does." Roade leaned Al's shoulder, tiptoeing to reach her arms around the boy.

"Who the hell are you?" Lavi snarled through gritted teeth - he knew what mind games were. This girl had told him that they were of the Noah Clan only to shock him with the fact that he didn't know a thing about them.

"What answer do you expect, other than the one that we've already given you?" Al asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice, and Lavi got the distinct impression that Al's eyebrows were raised as he spoke.

"Fine, I'll ask you a different question then - what the hell do you want with us? Are you going to kill us?" Lavi's eyes were narrowed, his arms straining against the ropes. His words sent Miranda into a panic, and she began to weep even harder, her limbs trembling in fear.

"Kill you? Nah, unfortunately old Millennie has given "strict orders" so I'm not allowed to kill you yet, and Al's here to reinforce the rules...but that doesn't mean I can't play with you." Roade's tongue travelled the length of her lips and she smiled, a vicious, malicious smile. "So tell me, what shall we play?"

Lavi swallowed back the insult that came into his head, his mind already darting ahead as he considered the Noah's words - she said that she was under orders not to kill him, but Lavi could tell this girl was already more sadistic, more cruel, more evil than anyone he'd met before. She could simply "lose control", and then he'd be dead, or worse, she would kill Lenalee. He couldn't provoke her.

"Well, Bookman? What shall we play? Cards? And shall we bet on your friend over there, to spice things up a little?" Roade's hands slipped into the folds of Al's long coat, re-emerging with a pack of cards.

Lavi stiffened. "Don't you dare touch Lenalee."

"Ooh, has wittle Bookman made friends amongst the Order? Does he _care_ for this girl?" Roade practically danced her way over to the green-haired Exorcist who still sat in her chair, limp and unresponsive. Roade tugged at her pigtails, smiling like the cat who ate the canary. "Let's see, how about we take one limb for every game you lose? Let's see how many body parts dear little Lenalee is left with after we're done playing."

Lavi's fists clenched, his eyes widening as Roade drew her finger over Lenalee's eye, curving as if to gouge it out. "I said take your hands off her!"

Roade giggled, a devilishly evil laugh, her nails curling inwards. Lavi stared, horrified, as Roade's nails dug deeper into the upper corner of Lenalee's eyes; his head was pounding, his breath coming in short, fast bursts. With all the strength he could muster, he forced his arms to fight against the restraints of the ropes that bound him, the howl building up in his chest, his arms burning with pain.

And the ropes broke apart.

Lavi slammed into the ground, hard, having over-balanced with his excessive use of force, and he lay there, panting. He hurt all over, and he had the distinct feeling that the ropes had been branded into his arms. But he was an Exorcist, and anyway, he _hated_ losing consciousness. So Lavi forced himself to push his body up with his arms, his sight seeming to dim as he glared at Roade, furious. "I said get your hands off her."

There was a moment of silence, and then there was a- Lavi wasn't entirely sure what happened, but Al almost seemed to flicker, and in less than a second later he was leaning over Lavi, his head tilted to the side. "Such determination will serve you only trouble, Exorcist. Just sit down and let Roade play, and if you're lucky we'll let you go without hurting you."

"Keh, you've got to be kidding me." Lavi drew a hand across his face, and wasn't surprised to see a thin streak of blood from his arm. "There's no way in hell I'm letting that woman touch Lenalee!"

There was a moment of silence as Al studied the man at his feet, his silver-gray eyes curious, even wondering. For a moment, Lavi could almost believe that the figure leaning over him was human - but then the moment passed, Al's eyes turning as cold, as pitiless as before, as he turned away, retreating to his previous position with a slow, unhurried stride.

"He seems awfully defensive of this little doll, doesn't he, Al?" Roade drawled as she slung herself over Lenalee's chair, one arm wrapped around Lenalee's neck, as she nudged the Exorcist's head with her foot.

There was a moment of silence as the Noah waited for her partner's response, her head tilted to look at him. It was a few beats before before the hooded figure stirred, and when he spoke his voice was colder than ice, emotionless and unaffected. "Why don't you see what his reaction is to the other one? Then we'll see just how _heroic_ he is."

Roade's eyes gleamed evilly as she suddenly grasped his meaning and she sat up, giggling. "Tyki was right - you're so much more evil than we are, Al!"

Lavi's arm jerked weakly - damnit, his mind seemed to have been addled by the pain as much as his body had. Whatever had just passed between those two, he'd completely missed it - all he knew was that whatever they were up to, it wasn't good, but then again any idiot could tell that.

Roade snapped her fingers. Lavi looked up, then froze, eyes widening to see that Roade was suddenly surrounded by flaming candles that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Lavi dragged himself up by sheer willpower, mouth curled into a snarl. "Don't you dare hurt Lenalee!"

Roade glanced over at him, her expression bored. "You've done nothing but chant that ever since you wake up - it's getting annoying." She flicked her fingers, and as one, the candles swiveled around, sharp end first, all pointing at the same person - who was not Lenalee.

Lavi stiffened. "Miranda!"

"Well, well, now we'll get to see just how much of a hero you are, Bookman. Will you leap in front of your friend to defend her from my candles, just like a real hero would? Or would you rather not risk your own life for her? But then, that wouldn't be very fair, would it, given your spirited defence of _Lenalee_ here. I thought Bookmen were supposed to be impartial, you know, Al, and I guess we'll finally get to see just how impartial this Bookman is." Roade winked at Al, who shifted, but remained silent.

Lavi's teeth clenched as he understood the choice Roade was asking him to make. Step in front of Miranda and take the candles in her stead, proving by equal defence of Lenalee and Miranda that he was, indeed, as a Bookman, impartial to all; or let Miranda get stabbed by the candles, thus proving that he was not partial after all, given how he had reacted to Lenalee being hurt.

Roade did not give him time; with a giggle, she flicked her hand - and the candles lashed forward to the rhythm of Miranda's terrified shrieks.

Al looked up, his expression inscrutable behind the mask, but for someone like Roade, who had known him for as long as she had, she could sense his surprise, even shock. Roade had to confess - even she was startled.

Miranda was half-twisted around her clock, the tears of panic and fear streaking her face, her eyes wide and staring at Lavi. The Bookman Junior staggered, looking up at Roade with a triumphant grin despite the three candles that had penetrated his back. "You have a shitty aim."

"And you really underestimate me!" Lavi belted out, lunging forward at Roade; the Noah leapt high into the air, completing a perfect cartwheel, but her face froze in mid-jump, as she realized what the Bookman Junior was really after.

Lavi jerked back, the grin on his face even more triumphant that before, even smug, as he held up his Innocence. "Let's even this game up a bit, Noah!"

Roade scowled, petulant at being thwarted. "Game? You want a game? I'll give you one!" She raised her hand into the air, summoning hundreds of thousands of candles, swamping the room with her choice of weapon. Lavi cursed, holding up his hammer as he backed to where Miranda was standing. "Odzuchi Kodzuchi, man, man, man!" With a sweep of his hammer, he sliced apart the ropes that bound Miranda's arms, ripping the candles that pierced her palms with his free hands. The German woman was too horrified by this turn of events to even feel the pain; she just gaped upward at Lavi, who tried for a confident grin. "Oi, Miranda, I don't think I can hold them off for long. So just try not to get in the way and make my job more difficult, all right?"

His words were harsh, but Miranda heard the meaning implicit in the Exorcist's speech.

_Stay alive. _

The tears came in another wave, overcoming her; at any other time, Lavi would have let the gentleman in him come forward, putting his arm around her to comfort her, but right now, he had bigger things to worry about, including keeping them both alive. So he readied his weapon, making sure to stand in front of the defenseless German woman as he faced Roade. "Bring it on, Noah!"

As Lavi shot into action, duck under some candles, blocking others with his gigantic hammer, Miranda scrambled backwards, still crying, unable to take her eyes off the Exorcist.

_Lavi-kun...he saved my life. Not once, not twice, but again and again, he's saved my life, even though we've known each other for barely more than a day. And not just him, Lenalee-chan too, they both fought so hard, are fighting so hard...even when he's weaponless, Lavi-kun didn't stop fighting. Even when he was as defenseless as I was, he still fought to keep me safe, even willing to get injured to save me. And now, now, he's fighting for me again, while I'm just sitting here and I...I..._

Miranda looked up, the tears blurring her vision not enough to fully prevent her from seeing what was going on. Even with the three Akumas standing by one side, not intefering, even with the hooded, mysterious figure merely watching, the fight was not even. His previous injuries had taken a toll on him, and Lavi's moves were nowhere as fast or as precise as they had been mere hours before. And he was paying for it. Roade's abilities allowed her to merely stand in place, her candles moving as fast as lightning at the merest flick of her fingers, while Lavi was getting nicked and cut all over, unable to even get close to the Noah. Lavi stood no chance, no chance at all: he was going to lose, he was going to die. And for the first time in her life, a new thought came to Miranda.

_I want to help him. _

It was as if that thought was the trigger. She felt a sudden pulsing in her, a sudden, strange beating that seemed to resonate from within her, throughout her. And before she knew what was happening, a sort of barrier seemed to shoot up in a circle around her, a glowing circle of gold and black, patterned with what looked like clocks. Lavi started; he was within the radius of the barrier, and was stunned to see that Roade and the others were seemingly gone. He turned to stare, almost in awe, at Miranda. "Are...are you doing this?"

Even as he spoke, Lavi knew his words to be true. The clock was glowing, even pulsing, standing upright and tall in the middle of the circle. Miranda's head was thrown back, her hair, that was usually tied into a bun, let loose and flying wild around her. And even as he took in all this, he could literally feel his exhaustion fading, the pain dissipating, almost seeping out of his pores. He looked down at his hands, unable to believe it, but it was true - the wounds had faded. He was cured. Even his back no longer ached with the stab wounds Roade had inflicted upon it. And this time, the smile that spread across his face was one of genuine delight and admiration. "Woah, Miranda! That was amazing! You healed me!"

Miranda opened one eye, staring at Lavi, as if shocked by her own prowess. "I...I did?"

Lavi grinned, clapping her on the shoulder. "Yeah, and that's one hell of an ability, Miranda. Now let's see if I can get Lenalee back so she can get a boost from the magical healing powers too." Without waiting for Miranda's response, he shot out of the barrier, hammer swinging over his head as if he'd never felt better.

* * *

Roade studied the barrier, frowning as she kept a good distance away from the glowing forcefield. Beside her, the blue-skinned Akuma reached forward tentatively, then yelped as the barrier crackled with energy, sending a jolt up his arm. Roade turned to look at Allen. "Oi, Al, what do you think? What is this? You had a better viewpoint of the battle than I did - is this that red-head's doing?"

Al was silent for a moment, then he shook his head pensively. "No. It's the woman. I don't know what triggered it, but it was definitely her Innocence that did this. That clock."

"Perhaps I should have killed her when I got the chance after all." Roade mused, laying her chin on her hand.

Just at that moment, a figure leapt out of the barrier, and a familiar voice yelled. "Gouka Kaijin:Hi Ban!"

Al's head shot up, the eyes behind the mask wide with expressive shock as he watched a great flaming snake shoot up from the ground, engulfing Roade and the blue-skinned Akuma in an instant. Al's eyes flashed; he lunged forward, arm outstretched, and was next to Lavi in an instant. The Exorcist nearly gasped - he was fast! Before Lavi could even react, Al moved as if to throw Lavi down to the ground, when a voice emanated from within the flaming snake. "Al, relax. Did you really think such a pathetic attack could hurt me, Bookman?"

It was almost as if a switch flipped in the hooded figure; his body suddenly became lax, and he leapt backwards, lithe and suddenly nonchalant again. Lavi shot to his feet, aware that this was his chance. Before Roade could leap out of his fiery snake and regain herself, he grabbed Lenalee by the hand, jumping onto his hammer with her, and shouted. "Shin!"

The hammer extended, flashing forward and carrying them back into the barrier where Miranda waited. Lavi had to carry Lenalee down from his hammer, unresponsive as she was. He felt for her pulse, while Miranda hovered over them worriedly. "How is she?"

Lavi's smile was heartfelt. "She'll be fine. Her nerves were just slightly damaged from the sound-generating attack of the Akuma, I think." He waved his hand in front of Lenalee's face, and his smile widened as he saw awareness slowly light up Lenalee's eyes, as she looked up, startled. "Lavi? Miranda? What's going on?"

"Lenalee! It's all right, we were attacked by the Akumas, and you were hurt. I'm sorry about leaving you to fight those three Akumas alone, by the way." Lavi apologised with a grin, which Lenalee waved away. "It's all right!" She looked about her with wonder, then turned to Miranda. "Miranda! Is this...are you doing this?"

Miranda flushed, seemingly unused to the admiration colouring Lenalee's tone. "It's not...I don't know how it happened either, it just did."

"But this is great! It's your Innocence, Miranda. Your power. Without you, we wouldn't even be able to fight back." Lenalee replied gratefully as she stretched her arms and legs, testing her reflexes.

Miranda flushed even deeper at the Exorcist's high praise. "I...it's really nothing."

Lavi stood up, stretching. "Well, in case you didn't realise, Lenalee, we've got company. There's another two extra enemies out there, Roade and Al. They called themselves Noahs."

Lenalee looked perplexed. "Noah? What's that?"

"I'll fill you in later. For now, though," he shot her a playful grin. "Let's fight!"

* * *

Roade rolled her eyes as she slouched over Lero, her finger prodding the pumpkin head distractedly. "This is getting boring. Why won't they come out and play?"

Silence.

"Oi, Lero, answer me!" Roade began to throttle the umbrella, shaking it hard while somehow maintaining perfect balance. "I want to play!"

Allen chuckled, his head tilted to one side. "Relax, Roade. They'll come out again. There's no other way out of this place, besides facing us, and I'm sure that Bookman already knows that."

As if his words were prophetic, a whirlwind shot out of the barrier, one that Roade and Lero barely managed to dodge. The green Akuma yelped, flying higher up into the air. "This is the attack of that girl Exorcist!"

Al looked up, eyes suddenly sharp, and indeed, the green Akuma's words were true. Another whirlwind was sent lashing forth, but he could see, behind the curtain of wind, two distinct figures, one kneeling on one knee, the other standing upright - clearly the two Exorcists who had, only moments before, been incapacitated. Al made as if to stand, but Roade waved him away. "I'll deal with it, Al. Don't forget, Millennie said it wasn't time for you to enter the stage yet."

Al's teeth gritted - it went against everything in him to let a family member fight alone, but he remembered his orders from the Millennium Earl. Resentfully, he sat himself down again, muttering under his breath about unreasonable orders and unfair treatment.

Roade's brows rose as she distinguished the same two figures that Al had already made out. Within seconds, she guessed what happened.

_That German woman, her clock...She turned back time in the town, and she must have done it again. She turned back their time and healed their wounds. She enabled them to fight again. _

"Roade!" Lavi shouted, swinging his hammer at the Noah. Roade leapt into the air, avoiding the blow, but she did not expect Lenalee's Waltz of the Piercing Wind, nearly engulfing her if she had not grabbed Lero by the head, swinging herself around while leaving Lero to be swallowed by the whirlwind.

Lenalee caught Lavi by the arm, lifting him up into the air. "Get them!" She released him, and he plummeted down towards the remaining two Akumas, his grin wide as he twirled his hammer, then slammed down on the green Akuma. Lenalee released another two whirlwinds at Roade, who dodged the attacks with surprising ease, jumping back to land on two candles.

Lavi unleashed his Gouka Kaijin, swallowing up the green Akuma, then stiffened, pain suddenly spreading across his back and arms. He looked down at his hands, only to see the grazes and cuts he had received before Miranda activated her Innocence. This was bad.

"Lenalee! Take care of them for a while, will you?" Lavi called to the female Exorcist, who nodded acquiescence, too focused on the battle to reply as she attacked with whirlwind after whirlwind.

Lavi took off running, practically diving into the barrier again.

Al's eyes narrowed as he followed the Exorcist's progress. Within seconds, he had exited the barrier, and seemed as good as new again. Understanding struck him. It was the woman's barrier that was healing them, and as long as they could return to the barrier, the Exorcists would be able to keep on fighting, no matter how injured they became. But such power was difficult to maintain, and if they could just bring the barrier down...

"Roade!" Al called, indicating the barrier. The Noah looked over at the forcefield, then at Lavi, and understood. "Take care of it!"

Al rose to his feet, shrugging his shoulders. "Finally, a little bit of action for me." He took his time, slowly strolling towards the barrier as if without a care in the world.

Lenalee and Lavi exchanged a glance. "We can't let Miranda get hurt!" Lenalee muttered, glancing back at where the German woman remained hidden.

"But they can't get in, can they? If they could, they would have gone in a long time ago!" Lavi replied, his answer logical.

But then the illogical happened.

Al walked toward the barrier, stopping right in front of it. He tilted his head, glanced back at Roade, some silent communication passing between the two of them. And then he entered the barrier.

Lenalee's eyes widened in shock. "How did he..."

Lavi swung out with his hammer, deflecting the candles that Roade had shot towards them as she tried to take advantage of their distraction. "Lenalee, go! I'll handle things here!"

Lenalee nodded, and with the aid of her Dark Boots she flashed towards the barrier.

Miranda was tired, sweat coating her face and arms, but still she held on. She wasn't entirely sure how she knew, but somehow she was certain that if she let go of her barrier, Lavi and Lenalee's wounds would return, and they would be hurt again. And so she held on, hoping that she could last long enough for them to win the fight. Just as this thought was running through her mind, however, someone entered the barrier. Miranda looked up, expecting it to be Lenalee - after all, Lavi had returned to the barrier twice already, but Lenalee only once, so it would make sense for it to be her this time. But then the German woman froze, her mouth falling open in sheer terror. "How...how did you get in?"

The hooded figure chuckled, a low, malevolent sound that was both amused and cruel. "Are you Exorcists really so arrogant as to believe yourselves infallible, to believe your barriers impenetrable? Pride comes before the fall, Exorcist. You would do well to remember that."

He reached out for her - she flinched, but even as she did so, knew that she had no chance of escaping him. She had seen how fast he could move when he loomed over Lavi, threatening him. She closed her eyes, desperately hoping that at least outside the barrier, Lavi and Lenalee were winning their fight, when there was a sudden gust of wind right in front of her. She opened her eyes, startled, only to see Lenalee in front of her, the Exorcist's expression determined. "You're going to have to get through me, Noah!"

Al paused, the emotion in his eyes inscrutable. His gaze travelled from the German woman, to the familiar green-haired girl, and then back again. And then he sighed. "This is a waste of my time."

Lenalee started, surprised by his words, but she held herself in position as he raised his left arm, ready for any attack.

And then Al lunged, but not at either of them. He swung his left arm out at the grandfather clock; there was a sudden burst of light, and Al's arm seemed to twist, seemed to transform into something deformed, something horrible that Lenalee could not see clearly. But then the light became blinding, and she threw her arm up, if only to shield her eyes from that light.

When she looked up again, the barrier was down - but Al was gone. Lavi was in mid-strike, staring wide-eyed at Miranda and Lenalee. He turned back to look at the Noah, who had darted backwards, and was standing on Lero again. Behind her stood a large, purple-coloured, heart-shaped door with a crown topping it. The Noah's eyes were narrowed as she looked at Lenalee, but her voice was just as careless and nonchalant as it had been before. "This is only the prologue, Exorcists. And be certain - the next time we meet, I won't be as kind." She stepped backwards, and fell through the door.

Lavi swung his hammer over his shoulder, relieved. He had taken care of the remaining two Akumas, but the Noah was no easy opponent. He made as if to turn towards the two women, then stopped, the pain suddenly blinding him. Realization struck him.

_They managed to bring the healing barrier down!_

And with that thought, he pitched forward, and was unconscious.

* * *

Hi guys, here's Chapter 2! I realise I've been gone for a really long time, but that's cos my midyear exams are coming up, so I had to study in prep for that. In fact, I probably won't be able to update again until after May 20th, since that's when my exams end. I hope you guys will continue reading, though!

As before, I've changed quite a few things in the story. In the original DGM the whole point of this scene was to reveal the Noahs and in a way show, by contrast between them and Allen, how humane Allen was, to even want to save the Akuma. Lavi has no such qualms, and so that entire conflict is removed. Instead I tried to hint towards the struggle that Lavi will be facing in the future: between his friends, and his impartiality as a Bookman. Even in DGM we see that Lavi is awfully defensive of Lenalee, and that trend will be further explored here.

I also changed Miranda's speech by quite a lot. In this story the trigger for Miranda's activation is more resulting from friendship and a desire to save; in that sense she mirrors Allen. She's never had a friend before, and yet now Lavi is telling her that he's willing to risk his own life for her. That, combined with the fact that she now has the power to save and protect others, something that never happened before, is what triggered the activation in her.

Finally, Allen. Just to clarify some doubts, Allen already has all the power of the Crown Clown, which means I will likely be removing the whole "Allen dies arc" or changing it significantly. I think it's pretty clear that Allen looks down on humans and Exorcists - but at this point he's never actually been acknowledged as a Noah. Even though Lavi mentioned that the "two of them are called Noahs" but no one has actually stated that Allen is one. So for all intents and purposes even though Allen is allied with the Noahs, he is nevertheless well aware that he's human. That conflict, of his contempt towards humans and yet being human himself, will be brought further forward in the next few chapters.

In any case, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are appreciated!


	4. Chapter 3

"Is there anything you want to tell me about, boy?" Tyki drawled as he tilted his glass, watching the burgundy-coloured liquid flow from side to side. Allen looked up, but his expression was listless, nowhere near as lively as Tyki had expected it to be - Tyki had heard that the Millennium Earl had sent Allen out for his field assignment, and given Allen's previous incessant whining about being left at home, he would have thought Allen would've come home with a skip in his step.

What actually happened, however, was significantly different from how Tyki had expected. Allen had stormed back to his room, his face darker than a thunderstorm, while Roade, who was usually so concerned and caring when it came to Allen, merely stared after the white-haired boy, bemused.

Allen leaned back against the backrest of the chair he was sitting on, letting the book he was reading fall open on its side. "Do you like humans, Tyki?"

Tyki stared at the boy, mystified. "Where did that come from?"

"I mean..." Allen struggled to give voice to his thoughts. "You're the only one out of all of us who actually has a normal human life. As in, you hang out with humans. Without killing them. Why?"

"It's amusing for me. Humans may be insects but at least they provide some form of entertainment, and some humans are better than the others." Tyki answered with a nonchalant shrug. He'd never really bothered to analyze his own reasons for hanging out with the humans he called "friends". Then his eyes narrowed, as the intent behind Allen's question became apparent. "Why, did you meet someone...a human you liked? I hope it's not one of the Exorcists you fought against."

"I didn't actually fight anyone, the Millennium Earl insisted I keep back because it "wasn't time for me to enter the stage yet", whatever that means. And it's not that I like her, it's just that she seems different somehow. Not as offensive or as despicable as the other humans I've encountered."

Tyki eyed the boy speculatively; Allen did genuinely seem confused, and honestly Tyki wasn't surprised. For as long as either of them could remember, the entire Noah family, Tyki himself included, had drilled into the boy's head that humans were insects, that they were beneath the Noahs, that they were not worth anything at all. But Tyki himself knew, from his interactions with the humans, that this was not strictly true. Some humans were innately better than others, just like how Tyki liked to think he was innately better than a brute like Skin. But for Allen, who'd been sheltered by the Noahs for more than half his life, who had had so little exposure to humans, his recent experience with the Exorcists was likely his first exchange with a human in more than three years, he had no idea that some humans were, indeed, good. And yet.

The Millennium Earl's orders were clear - what the boy didn't have to know, he wouldn't know. And so Tyki shrugged. "Some of them seem that way at first, but don't forget - humans are experts at lying and betrayals, they even backstab their own family. Humans are animals, beasts, and no matter how they may seem to you at first glance, you should never forget that."

Allen gazed discomposedly into the warm fire that crackled in the fireplace opposite his seat, but did not respond to Tyki's venom-filled words.

* * *

Lavi's gaze was fixed on a distant point outside the window - not any point in particular, he merely stared, silent, wordless, more quiet than Komui had ever seen him before. There was something dark in his green eyes, something that made Komui mirror the Bookman Junior's silence, as he waited for Lavi to answer his question.

"He was strong. Insanely strong. And fast, too. He moved so fast I could barely see him, and he was able to overpower me in a second. I would be dead now, if he hadn't stopped." Lavi's voice was quiet as he finally replied. "But the thing is - she was too. That Noah, Roade. She didn't do much except send candles flying all over the place, but I got the sense that she was just as strong, if not stronger than the hooded boy. Who the hell are these people, gramps? They said they were just "playing" with us - and yet even so, if you hadn't gotten here in time, both Lenalee and I would have died." The Bookman Junior looked up at his teacher, the old man who leaned over the green-haired girl in the bed, his expression solemn and revealing nothing of his thoughts. Bookman removed the final needle from the side of Lenalee's neck, inserting it back into his pouch, before turning around to face his disciple. "Noah. They are a supposedly fictional people, and we have found no real trace of their existence, no mention of them throughout history. The legend goes that they appear occasionally, in particular when the world is on the verge of a great change, but they fail to appear in any document or text. Not even in our records is there any mention of the Noah - we do not know their motivations, their intent, their past, nothing. Only this: the last time they appeared, was during the Great Flood."

"The Noah's Ark. Did they work for or against the Millennium Earl then?" Lavi's voice was low.

"We have no idea. As you already know, the only mention of them is merely the name "the Noah's Ark". As it is, this reference is vague enough and tells us barely anything at all about the Noahs themselves."

"In other words, we have nothing. We don't know anything about them, except for the fact that they're stronger than us. Exponentially stronger than us. How are we supposed to fight them, then?" Lavi's fists curled into a ball, his right hand clutching the cold hammer that rested in his hands. Komui's brows drew together; as he sat back down on the chair next to Lenalee's bed, he spoke. "I know you're troubled, Lavi, and you have good reason to be. But we can't lose hope now - we may not know anything about them, but at least we have some idea about their capabilities, and we know for sure that they're helping the Millennium Earl. This will help us safeguard against them, at least for the time being."

"What I truly am more interested in is this _boy_. You say you saw nothing of his features?" Bookman questioned the red-haired junior, who leaned his head against the window as he responded. "Nothing. He was wearing a mask so I couldn't see his face, and he had this huge cloak on with the hood up. They were intentionally trying to keep his identity secret from us."

"Which is even more curious, given the openness with which the Noah Roade faced you. Why hide the identity of one Noah and not the other? What is so significant about this boy that the Millennium Earl does not want us to know who he is? And that name they offered us - Al. Is that truly his name? Or was that merely a false identity, yet another lie which they are using to hide the boy?" Bookman mused as he felt for Lenalee's pulse, then her forehead, checking her status again.

"I did notice one thing. When I got Roade with my Gouka Kaijin, Al lost his composure and attacked me. He was insanely fast, but I managed to grab his arm and get a good look at it."

"And?" Komui looked up expectantly.

"He wore gloves."

Komui frowned. "Many people wear gloves, Lavi. It doesn't mean anything, and it doesn't really tell us anything about who the boy was."

"Yes, but it's the middle of summer. And here in Germany, that means the weather is swelteringly hot. I noticed, while I was in the town, that not a single person, man or woman, was wearing gloves, but Al was. And not once did he take them off. That's a little strange, isn't it?"

"Strange, yes, but it doesn't help illuminate us as to his identity." Komui answered. He glanced down worriedly at his younger sister. "How much longer do you think it will take for her to awaken, Bookman?"

"Perhaps another day or so. While the Rabbit here suffered largely superficial wounds, Lenalee's nerves were badly impacted. Given the extent of the nerve damage she suffered, even with my acupuncture, it will take her a while to heal."

Lavi shot Komui a guilty look. "Komui, I'm sorry. I should have kept an eye out for her instead of letting her get so badly hurt."

"It wasn't your fault, Lavi, so don't blame yourself." Komui chided. "Look at you, your arms still in a sling and you're walking around with a limp. Both of you pushed yourselves to the limit to fight the Noahs. I'm just glad both of you will be able to recover fully." He hesitated for a moment, looking at the file that he had been holding ever since he entered the room. Both Bookmen waited expectantly, but when Komui remained silent, Lavi bit back a sigh. "Come on, Komui. We're Bookmen. We noticed the way you've been clutching that file ever since you came in. We know it's not good news. Just spit it out."

"I know this is a bad time, what with all your injuries, but I'm sending both of you on a mission with Kanda. Reports regarding supposedly-spotted Innocence have been flooding in the past few days - I don't know if it's a coincidence, what with the Noahs' appearance, but you're sorely needed in the field. I know you're injured, Lavi, but the destination is several days away by train - with Bookman's treatment you should be more or less recovered by the time you reach the town." He handed Bookman the folder. "We don't have much time to lose, so you can read the file on the train. You'll take the next train out of town and meet up with Kanda at the destination itself. There'll be no Finders this time around, I'm afraid - we simply don't have enough manpower."

Bookman turned to finish packing up his materials, calm as always, but Lavi's eyes remained on Komui, a flicker of something in his sea-green eyes. Lavi got to his feet, a little more awkward than he usually walked, what with all his injuries, and placed a hand on Komui's shoulder. "Hey, its okay, you don't have to feel bad about this. We're Exorcists. It's our job, right? So just relax." He patted the Chief on the shoulder, then followed Bookman out of the room to catch the next train out of town.

Komui looked down at his still unconscious sister and closed his eyes.

* * *

Kanda gazed silently upon the looming castle of the supposed "vampire" that haunted the town, his expression almost unreadable, if not for the slight twist of his mouth that conveyed the lack of impression the castle made on him. The gargoyle that stood, knurled and stern, over the gates of the castle was not merely hideous, but laughably ineffective in scaring Kanda, and the grandness of the castle itself was, in fact, incomparable to the Black Order Headquarters. If anything, the only word that could describe this entire setting was _tacky_.

Next to him, however, Lavi stared open-mouthed at the castle, clearly impressed by it. Kanda scoffed, striding forward with a seeming lack of concern, walking right through the gates and into the gardens of the castle.

The gardens was, as with the gates, peppered with gruesome gargoyles; there was some greenery, but they were largely wilted and clearly uncared for. Other than that, the area was deserted and silent.

Kanda felt his fellow Exorcist shift next to him, and glanced down to see Lavi's fingers curling around his hammer; the blue-haired Exorcist smirked. "Scared of a few statues, Rabbit?"

Lavi swallowed back his fear. "I'm so not scared." He made a weak attempt at a laugh, trying to shake off the chill that ran down his back, when Kanda suddenly whirled around, falling into a defensive stance with his legs apart and his hand on Mugen. "Reveal yourself!"

Lavi turned, more slowly than Kanda, then froze in shock, his fingers trembling as he pointed at the dark figure hidden in the woods. "Is that...that can't be."

"There he is!" The villagers cried, their mock weapons - crosses with sharpened ends, garlic, hammers and candles - lifting automatically as the scrambled back away from the figure.

The figure stalked forward, and as Lavi's eyes adjusted to the darkness he recognized that it was not merely one man that strode towards them, but a man holding a body in his arms, almost caressing it, as his teeth latched onto the body's neck. The figure looked up; he had a streak of white hair that stood up tall, while the rest of his ebony-black hair was slicked back; his body was covered by a long cloak that clung tightly to his body, but most distinctive of all was his eyes: bloodthirsty and cruel, eyes narrowed to slits as the man dropped the body he held and snarled at the two Exorcists.

The Headsman of the town breathed, "Arystar Krory..."

There was a moment of ominous silence; then with shrieks of fear and terror the villagers were sent running back in the direction they came, their arms waving in panic as they fled the scene. Lavi bit back a sigh - he wished he could run the same way he did, but the old Panda would just beat him up if he came running back with the rest of the villagers. So he did the only thing he could. He withdrew his hammer, holding it up in front of him.

"Keh." Kanda unsheathed Mugen in one fluid movement. "So you're not an Akuma, after all."

Krory's breathing was harsh, his fingers twitching as he faced them silently, eyes fixed and piercing as he stared straight at Kanda.

"What are you, monster? Are you in league with the Millennium Earl? Are you killing on his orders, so that he will have more humans to turn into Akumas?" Kanda demanded, his face cold.

"I don't think that's the issue here, Yuu." Lavi spoke up. "He is killing villagers, after all. And so," he directed his words at Krory himself. "We can't let you hurt anymore people."

Kanda snorted at that, but both Exorcists held their weapons out, their voices melding together as one, "Innocence, activate!"

Odzuchi Kodzuchi expanded, becoming as big as Lavi himself was, while Mugen glowed with an unearthly light, the gleaming silver blade suddenly looking a thousand times deadlier than before.

Krory began to laugh, the regal arrogance in his face replaced by contempt and disregard. "Do you really think you can fight me? With those toys?"

"Don't let him suck your blood, Yuu."

Kanda smirked. The samurai readied his blade and shot forward, but as fast as he was, the vampire was faster. Kanda slashed downwards, only to freeze, instinctively whirling around as the vampire dodged the blow and darted around him to lunge at Lavi instead. Lavi ducked back, his eyes wide in shock. "So fast!" He was almost as fast as that Noah, Al! Lavi parried a punch with his hammer, then swung out at Krory, but was far too slow to land a hit on the vampire.

Kanda lashed out, slashing in every direction possible, Mugen moving so quickly it was no more than a glimmer, but even that was not enough; Krory ducked and swerved, and it seemed as if there was no way Mugen was even going to touch his body, when Kanda suddenly jerked out of the way.

Krory's eyes narrowed; a sixth sense made his head shoot up, and his eyes widened as he saw the looming black shape of the hammer that was at least fifty times bigger than it had been before; the red-haired Exorcist's voice called out. "Grow, grow, grow!"

Kanda paused for a second, his eyes darting left and right as he tried to see past the mounds of dust Lavi's attack had raised - had the vampire been taken down by Lavi?

Lavi glanced down, the grin on his face widening. "Take that!"

And suddenly Kanda was running, running full-tilt towards the hammer as he shouted. "Lavi, get off the hammer!"

Lavi looked up, alarmed and confused, for he could not see what Kanda had. The attack hadn't landed a hit on Krory's body - the vampire had caught hold of the tip of Odzuchi Kodzuchi with his teeth, and was holding the hammer up by mere force of his canines. How his teeth weren't already broken, Kanda didn't know, but frankly he didn't care either. He leapt forward, but was a beat too late, as the vampire swung his head around viciously, hurling Lavi to the ground along with his hammer. Lavi flew past Kanda, and the samurai heard a crash as he landed, presumably in a tree. Kanda didn't turn around to look; instead he lifted his weapon, taking the opportunity to slash the vampire in the side.

Krory jerked back, but was a moment too slow to avoid the blow. The vampire looked down, the icy contempt in his face still evident as he looked at the blood the samurai had drawn. He glanced up at Kanda, who was already standing at the ready, prepared for Krory's attack. "You boys are quite the bee's knees, living through an encounter with me. Are you monsters, too?'

Lavi stirred weakly, the word "monsters" penetrating his weakly-fading consciousness. Monsters? Was that how the vampire viewed himself?

Kanda's voice was cold and just as condescending. "No. We're Exorcists."

"Well then, it's nice to meet you...but I'm in a hurry, so I don't have time to dally with you!" The vampire shot forward like a bullet; his movements were a heartbeat slower than before, but even then he took Kanda by surprise. He surpassed Kanda in a matter of seconds, ducked past Lavi into the woods, and then vanished into the distance.

"Keh." Kanda waited for a moment more, his gaze studying the woods, watching for an ambush, but when it became apparent that the vampire was truly gone, he sheathed his weapon, throwing a disdainful look at his fellow Exorcist. "What are you doing still on the ground? Are you going to wait there for him to eat you?"

Lavi scrambled to his feet, his expression sheepish. "That Krory guy was fast! But he escaped - so what do we do now?"

"We go after him." Kanda turned back to the castle, his stride even more purposeful as he walked without hesitation further into the grounds of the castle. Lavi's brows rose as he hurried after Kanda. "Oh? It's not like you to be a do-gooder."

Kanda shot Lavi a look, that managed to convey both the Kanda's annoyance, and the idea that Kanda thought Lavi was an idiot. "Baka. That man's teeth - he managed to grab ahold of your hammer without having his teeth broken into a million pieces. There's only one substance in the world I can think of that can do that."

"...you can't be thinking...Innocence?" Lavi frowned. "But that doesn't explain why he's going around biting people and draining them of their blood, especially if he's able to use the Innocence."

Kanda shook his head. "It doesn't make much sense, but you can't deny there's a possibility that his teeth are made of Innocence - if that's the case, then the man is a parasite-type, which means he's invaluable as an Exorcist. So we have to go after him and check this out."

Lavi sighed, slinging his hammer over his shoulder. "True enough. Let's get rolling then."

Kanda gave a short jerk of his head, then paused, turning slightly to stare at the woods behind them. Lavi's brows rose. "What is it? Are the villagers back?"

Kanda just watched, silently, ignoring Lavi's question as he so often did, his eyes perusing the woods, sharper than a knife as he gazed into the distance. Then he turned back to the castle and continued walking. Lavi fell in beside him. "What was that all about?"

"I thought I sensed someone watching us. Perhaps one of the villagers was lingering." Kanda replied, seemingly unconcerned, but Lavi eyed Kanda's hand.

It had not, for one moment, left Mugen's hilt.

* * *

"That samurai is a sharp one." Allen mused, his cheek pressing against his hand as he perched lightly on one of the thick, sturdy tree branches. He tilted his head to one side. "The red-haired Rabbit though, not so much."

The blonde-haired girl next to him took one final look at herself in her pocket mirror, making sure that her makeup was perfect before turning to look at Lavi and Kanda. "It doesn't matter, they're no threat to us. Arystar trusts me - he would never believe these Exorcists, with their wild talk of Innocence and what not. He'll kill them, and that'll be the end of it."

"I certainly hope not. That would just be boring, wouldn't it?" Allen chuckled darkly, his gaze fixed on the blue-haired samurai. That Exorcist was strong, perhaps the strongest Exorcist he had seen thus far - although that wasn't really saying anything, given that he'd only seen four Exorcists in action so far. Allen was confident that the samurai would be able to hold his own against the vampire - but then again, a mere, straightforward battle would just be boring. He cast a glance down at the the girl who leaned against the tree below him. "Eliade."

She looked up, obedient and curious all at once.

"Go. Engage them, but don't kill them. Let's see just how much these Exorcists are capable of." Allen ordered.

Eliade bowed. "As you wish." She ducked into the woods, but Allen did not bother watching her - she had her own shortcuts through the woods, and as a level 2 had more freedom, more intelligence, more sentience than other level 1 Akumas, but Allen was safe in the knowledge that Eliade would not dare disobey him. After all, he could destroy her with a simple word - and that Akuma, he had observed, could be easily defined with four words: selfish and self-serving.

He stretched, then leapt lightly off the tree branch, landing on the balls of his feet as neatly as a cat - the lessons in balance and grace from Lulubell had paid off, after all. He glanced down at his hands, gloved as always, and flexed his delicate, long fingers. He was bored - living with Roade had its detriments, among them, the development of the inability to be left without entertainment.

He certainly hoped that Eliade's intervention would be able to make his time here more entertaining - if not, he might even be forced to interfere just to amuse himself, despite the Millennium Earl's orders for him to keep uninvolved and not reveal his true capabilities.

After all, he simply could not stand _boredom!_

* * *

Lenalee stirred weakly, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to remember where she was. She could feel the comforting softness of sheets beneath her, the warmth of a blanket covering her, and a brightness that was so vastly different from the darkness, the insane mess that was Roade's realm...

Roade!

Lenalee shot upright, eyes wide, the thought of the malicious Noah sending a jolt of panic through her. As she realized where she was, however, her body relaxed, and she gazed up into the kindly, familiar face of the Nurse. "Nurse? What happened? How did I get back here?"

"Chief Komui brought you back with him only a few hours ago. The moment news of your condition reached us, he left with Bookman to seek you out. Fortunately, it seems, he was just in time - you'll be just fine after a few hours' of rest." The Nurse smiled down at Lenalee - she was usually stern and firm with the Exorcists, but Lenalee, having lived at the Order since she was only a child, had wormed her way into the Nurse's heart, and the Nurse had a special fondness for the green-haired girl.

"Where's Lavi?" Lenalee remembered, looking about for her companion.

"He left for a mission not long after he awoke." Komui's voice drifted over, and Lenalee turned her head to see her brother standing by the doorway, his greeting smile warm. He made it over to her side in a few quick strides, sitting down on the chair that had been placed by her bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, just a little tired. But what about Lavi? He was badly injured too, and he's already been sent off on another mission?" Lenalee's voice was worried, her gaze anxious as she tugged on her brother's hand. "Are you sure that's safe, Komui?"

"Bookman assured me that Lavi's wounds were largely superficial, and he should be back in fighting form within hours. As it is, he should have recovered already. And besides, you know I would never have sent an injured Exorcist out onto the field, not unless the situation was dire."

Her brother's choice of words made her gaze sharpen, her tone suddenly even more serious than before. "Dire? What do you mean? What's happened?"

Komui bit back a sigh as he recalled the piles and stacks of reports that had suddenly flooded the Science Division, to the extent that not a single person in the department had slept for five days straight. "I'm not entirely sure either, Lenalee. It came out of nowhere - reports of Akuma sightings, strange occurrences that seemed to be the result of Innocence, death rates skyrocketing for no apparent reason. It's as if the Millennium Earl has decided to suddenly launch an all-out attack on us - the Science division is swamped with work, there aren't enough Finders to investigate every single report and there are far from enough Exorcists to retrieve the Innocence. The situation is bad, Lenalee, very, very bad."

"Then you have to send me out too." Lenalee's tone was adamant, her hand gripping her brother's. Komui hesitated, his eyes meeting hers - he had known from the moment he entered the room, that she would demand to be sent out onto the field too. There was no way Lenalee was going to let the rest of the Exorcists struggle and fight against the seemingly endless supply of Akumas while she sat back in the Black Order and recuperated. There was no way his little sister would be as obedient as that.

And so he made his tone light, joking, as he replied. "I don't really have a choice in that, do I?"

Lenalee smiled, knowing her brother had given in. "Nope. If you'd said no I'd have hit you over the head and gotten my assignment from Reever instead."

"All right then." Komui got to his feet, tussling her hair. "Meet me at my office in fifteen minutes and I'll hand you your assignment." He made for the door, then paused, turning back to look at Lenalee. "I just remembered - Lavi's already told us everything he observed from your encounter with the Noahs, but was there anything in particular that jumped out at you? Anything that you noticed about them that might seem important?"

Lenalee hesitated for a moment. "Lavi told you about the hooded man, then? Al?"

Komui nodded.

"He was...strange. Not strange like how Roade was strange. Roade was just straightforward strange - she was easy to read. It was obvious she hated us, and obvious that she just wanted to play with us, make us contort to her will until we broke. But Al...he wasn't that simple. At times, it seemed like he was just as malicious, just as vicious as Roade was - they kept talking about "playing" with us, like we were some kind of toys. But then..."

"Yes?" Komui prompted.

"He was able to make it through the barrier. The barrier that Miranda formed with her Innocence, the one that neither Roade nor the Akumas were able to penetrate. Al just walked through it like it was nothing. Like there was nothing there. Just like how Lavi and I walked through it. And when he was facing me, when he attacked Miranda's Innocence instead of directly attacking us, it was almost as if he was making a deliberate attempt _not_ to fight us, which makes absolutely no sense at all, given that he's the enemy." Lenalee sounded confused, and Komui could understand why. Like Lenalee had observed, Roade's motivations were plain, and yet this boy's, Al's, were not so clear.

"Who is he, brother?" Lenalee asked.

And Komui could only look at her helplessly, and shake his head. "I don't know, Lenalee. None of us do."

* * *

**And I'm back with a new chapter! I know it's been really long since I last updated, almost a month, but I've been really busy with school work, not to mention I've got a few new stories planned out – a Reign fanfiction (centering on Kennash) and a Frozen/Rise of the Guardians crossover. Any other Reign/Frozen/Rise of the Guardians fans out there?**

**Anyway, I know that according to the timeline of the anime I've actually skipped quite a few events. For instance, the incident with Doug actually happened before Lavi joined Allen and Lenalee at the Rewinding Town. However, I will be rearranging certain events in the story, and I will only be focusing on the more crucial events (like the ones that are more important to the plot i.e Miranda and Krory being recruited to join the order) so that we can skip over old territory and get to the exciting bits faster.**

**Kanda makes his first appearance proper – I hope I managed to get his character right. I tried to make him as cold and arrogant as he was in the anime/manga, but it should also be noted that Kanda is probably one of the most-skilled Exorcists out there; he's definitely stronger than both Lavi and Lenalee, not to mention his instincts are a lot sharper too (hence he notices Allen while Lavi doesn't).**

**I tried to give more insight into Allen's character and the way he was brought up. As I mentioned before, he's significantly different from the Allen in the anime/manga – under Roade's influence, he's a lot more "fun" loving and hates being bored, and he's also a lot crueller (for instance, while he doesn't enjoy commanding Akumas to self-destruct, he's not averse to the idea, as opposed to the Allen in the original story who was appalled by the idea of Akumas self-destructing); and yes, in case you're wondering, Allen does still have his cursed eye, and it'll come into play later in the story. Nevertheless, despite his upbringing it's clear that Allen's resolve against humans is starting to alter given his interactions with them, and I'll be focusing more on that in the next few chapters.**

**I'll try and update the next chapter ASAP, so please anticipate it, and remember to review! Thanks a lot!**


End file.
